The Tales of Our Lives
by Sleeping Reverie
Summary: We read impossible feats in fairy tales, but that doesn't mean they are any less true. Shadow is sent to the ARK to ensure that the colony is abandoned. It's not. Set after Sonic Heroes.
1. Chapter 1: Sleeping Beauty

A/N: Hey everyone! _The Tales of Our Lives_ is my first Sonic the Hedgehog fanfic in a long time. The first one I made was waaay back when I was...12? Either way it wasn't a pretty sight.

Anyway, there's a **few important notes** that you may want to know about the fic. First is that I've been writing the chapters a little bit at a time, so it may take me a while to post a new chapter. I'm going to try to update once every time I make a new chapter (I'm at chapter five now) or once every two weeks, whichever comes first. I'm trying to stop my habit of leaving stories unfinished, and this may be the best way to do it.

Second is that the timeline for this story is going to be a little different. Initially I wanted to have the story in Shadow's POV, but as I kept writing, I ended up staying in Maria's. Since I still want to write Shadow's experiences too, I'm going switch POVs _and times_ every major instance happens. So, for example, after four chapters of being with Maria, we'll switch back to Shadow at the beginning of the story. I apologize if this causes any confusion, and it will most likely change after the story ends.

Third is that this story happens after Sonic Heroes, and that Shadow the Hedgehog didn't happen. The reason for this is because I've never played Shadow the Hedgehog (although I wish I could!), and though I know some of the basics, I don't know enough to even attempt to make things accurate. I may take some plot points from the game and incorporate it into the story, but it will be completely different.

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog, it's characters, places, etc. belong to the Sonic Team and Sega. This fiction is solely for fun, and definitely not for profit or to take credit of any of the previously mentioned.

Thanks for your patience! Enjoy!

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**The Tales of Our Lives**

_Chapter 1: Sleeping Beauty_

In the haziness of her mind, she had come to realize that she had slept too long.

Her body ached as if she hadn't moved in years, her nerves sending waves of dull throbs from her head to her toes. In fact, her lungs felt as if they were yearning to pump faster, as if they were aching to move more,** as if they were on fire**...

She struggled to open her eyes as the pain made her more alert. To make matters worse, she was starting to believe that she was drowning. Drowning in what? Water? It felt thicker than that. Was she dying?

Finally, she gained the strength to push her eyelids open, and opened her mouth in pure instinct to breathe-a pointless gesture! The brown translucent liquid clouded her vision past the glass dome that she was entrapped in. Panic set in, and she pounded the window with her fists as hard as she could. Couldn't anybody hear her? She was going to drown! She started kicking the glass, growing more and more desperate as every second passed by. With a shrill sound, she slammed her feet into the prison. She heard a large crack, and the fluid seeped out of the large hole. She couldn't wiggle out just yet, so she continued pounding against the spider web cracks until she was free.

She pulled herself out of the glass coffin with an agonizing protest from her body, violently coughing up the fluid from her lungs. It felt like she would never be able to breathe again, and what may have been only a minute felt like hours to her. Finally, the coughing spell had subsided, leaving her exhausted and very much enjoying the ability to inhale.

At last, she could concentrate on seeing. Perhaps the contaminated water had affected her sight, as everything was still out of focus. She rubbed her eyes-wait, what was that gritty feeling? Looking down at the back of her hand, she noticed that her skin color was tanner than her usual fair color. And they were bigger, it seemed. She squinted and felt her hands. Was it hair? Or more like fur...

As her vision came back, she began to realize that it wasn't just her hands that had changed. Her feet were different, her limbs skinnier, and dear goodness, was that her nose? She stood and turned to the capsule, noticing that her favorite blue dress now wore like an oversized blanket. After attempting to look at the skewed image reflected off the machine, she picked up a broken piece of glass and looked at her reflection.

"What...?" Her rough voice cracked. Immediately she brought her free hand up to her face, feeling her fuzzy cheeks, transfixed by the stranger copying her moves in the mirror. She tried to run her fingers through her normally silky hair, only to find that the consistency had turned to something akin to soft needles.

Clearly, she wasn't human anymore. She was like-

The memories of gunshots and people screaming filled her head, and with sudden panic, she dropped the fragment and ran to what looked like the exit.

"Shadow!"

The door activated and screeched open as if it hadn't been used in years. Against the strangeness of her new body, she ran as best she could down the hallway, yelling for anyone to answer.

" Hello? Where is everybody?" Her voice echoed through the metal halls. "Grandpa?"

The last she could remember was Shadow screaming her name and pounding against the glass of the escape pod as it launched. After that, she felt the heaviness of her body being too much, sinking to the floor, and closing her eyes. But what happened after that? Was everyone okay? Did anyone find Shadow?

She turned left at the fork, towards her grandfather's office, calling out until her voice went sore. No one answered, and she was left confused and once again breathless. Tears began to spring from the corner of her eyes, and the eeriness of the silence in the usually bustling colony started to creep up on her. The halls were even dingy and looked like they hadn't been cleaned in a long while, and the only accompaniment to her wavering emotions were the flickering lights. Had G.U.N. detained everyone on board? It felt like she was the only living creature in the colony!

"Don't cry," She mumbled to herself and took a few deep breaths. "I can't do anything just by crying." Chances were, someone had to be here. After all, the colony was still up and running, and it would be crazy to think that such a place would be abandoned. What would be the best thing to do right now?

She looked down at her hands. Even if nobody else could tell her what happened, then surely she would be able to find out herself. She turned back the way she came, this time at a much slower pace. Her footsteps echoed against the metal walls, and she concentrated on the sound. She could hear noises that she had never heard before.

"Hedgehog ears." She smiled despite herself, and reached to touch her new ears. The appendages twitched from the disturbance and it tickled a little. She always wondered what it was like to have ears like Shadow's, and now she knew.

Eventually she had made it back to the original hallway. Funny though, the door she came out of had malfunctioned and remained open. The security lock appeared to be roughed up, as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. Since when did that happen?

Come to think of it, she never could go in that room before. It was one of Grandpa's top-secret project facilities, and no matter how much her and Shadow tried, they could never figure out the password. Why did they put her in there instead of the infirmary?

Her apprehensiveness began to transform into curiosity as she stepped back into the secret room. Upon an initial sweep of the place, she had noticed that several monitors connected to the now offline machine and the liquid that nearly drowned her lay in small puddles around the capsule. Broken glass and colored cables littered the floor, and it looked like the whole system was supported by its own monster of a generator. But what intrigued her the most was the small metal table holding surgical items nearby.

Careful of the glass, she tiptoed her way to the table. A scalpel, tweezers, a bullet-_that_ bullet. Quickly she tried to reach for her wound, only to find unbroken skin. That had to be impossible though, as she remembered the bullet tearing through her flesh and piercing her heart. There was no way she could have survived...

Then she caught sight of a video camera a few feet behind, pointed at the capsule. She hesitated a bit. Was she really ready to see this? Maybe the better question was if she was going to be able to accept the truth.

She went to it and grabbed the recorder from its stand. Her mouth went dry as she rewound the movie as fast as possible, looking at the tiny screen with a certain fear. Finally, the tape gave a small click, and the movie began.

The screen cut to the capsule, still holding her human body inside. The monitors beeped and flashed with all sorts of information; anything from her heartbeat to her brain signals were being tracked. She could barely make out the stained bandages wrapped around her chest, and the fluid being muddied with what could be assumed as her own blood. Her stomach churned at the sight, and she covered her mouth in disgust. Suddenly her grandfather appeared on the screen, addressing the camera.  
_  
"I don't have much time. In a few days, the soldiers will shut down the station and take any last survivors with it."_ His eyes shifted to something off screen, possibly the door.

_"When one of my assistants found Maria's body near the escape pods, he brought her here, to the G.A.R.S.. She,"_ He gave a shaky sigh that pierced her heart. _"She was in bad shape when she came in. Those damned soldiers shot at whoever was in the facility. Shot her like she was an animal."_

She placed a hand over her chest where the bullet had lodged. Her grandfather continued. _"We had to remove the bullet before placing her in the machine. She is in critical condition, but the procedure seems to be stalling any further complications. By integrating Shadow's genetic code into the system, his regeneration capabilities should be able to become a part of Maria's code. However, while the theory may be sound, the results can be anything from pure rejection to..."_ He paused and grimaced at the thought. _"I honestly don't know if this will work, but it was the only method I could think of in order to save her life. The doctors couldn't do anything more for her-"_ His voiced hitched at the end and he fought back a sob. She could feel the tears rise up from her own eyes.

_"I'm so sorry, Maria! My beautiful granddaughter! I'm so sorry about everything!"_ The video cut off and back on, this time the date stamp had changed. Her tears rolled down and splattered onto the floor as she watched her own heart rate become flat, and her grandfather and fellow scientists swarm around the machine. She couldn't understand what happened but after a few minutes of flurrying activity, they slowed to a halt. Her grandfather never looked so defeated in his life, hunched over her still form. He ordered the others to leave, and one by one, they shuffled out of sight. A loud gunshot was heard, and he jerked up from his slumped position. Her grandfather glanced at the camera with the most frightening look she had ever seen. It sent chills down her spine, and she had to force herself not to drop the camera.

Heavy steps emanated from the speakers. Another voice popped in, unfamiliar. _"All clear, sir."_ The soldier appeared next to her makeshift casket, peered into the glass for a few seconds, and pulled the cords from the monitors out. That horrible flat noise stopped, and the soldier walked away.

The film went on with virtually no change for the few minutes that followed, and she pressed the fast forward button to see if that was all that the video could offer. The screen flickered to black and then to fuzz.

Briefly she wondered if Grandpa would have considered this a success or a failure.

Still, for now she was the same old Maria on the inside. If nothing else, she still had her life. Now if only there was a way to get into contact with Shadow...

...Or perhaps she was better off going to her room for a quick bath and a new set of clothes.

_to be continued..._

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**Trivia Time!**

This one's an easy chapter to understand the relation to the title. _Sleeping Beauty_ refers to, of course, Maria waking up from her 50 year coma. Only instead of a prince waking her up, it's fluid flirting with her lungs. :)

Second is that home video cameras (or, at least portable ones) didn't actually exist until the late 1970's. Technically the film we see of Gerald Robotnik was made probably on a large, non-portable one separate from the one in the chapter. The video camera we see in this chapter is what I imagine to be an extra security camera made into a makeshift camcorder.

I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2: Red Riding Hood

A/N: Huh, so yeah. Either my lack of things to do during summer is motivating me, or this whole xx chapters ahead technique is working. I didn't expect to get another chapter out so early. I noticed that since I haven't written in such a long time, some of my voice is gone. I'm gonna try to fix that.

Thanks you guys for reading. I hope you're enjoying it so far!

* * *

**The Tales of Our Lives**

_Chapter 2: Red Riding Hood_

After the relaxing —albeit slightly unnerving—bath, Maria began to brainstorm the issue of clothing. Her usual attire was simply out of the question; the perfectly fitted blouses and dresses no longer worked the way they were supposed to. Her quills created small lumps reminiscent of the loch ness monster or igor whenever she tried on a blouse, and when that wasn't happening, the material would nearly fall off of her drastically small frame.

Staring down her dresser in a battle of wits, Maria finally relented to the hard truth. If she wanted to fit in her clothes, she would have to alter them.

As she pulled out her sewing kit from the desk a few feet behind the dresser, she had realized that something was off about her room. Certainly everything was in its place, but didn't it seem‚…cleaner than the rest of the ARK? In fact, her room had considerately less dust, but the wallpaper had turned an off color, like it had been aged. The room almost felt dead to her.

The bizarre feeling crept up on her again, and she cringed.

"Nothing to be afraid about…" She said out loud. It still didn't help her any.

Shaking her head, she pulled out the closest fitting outfit she owned—a light blue sundress with puffed sleeves and white trim. It was a dress that she wore often when she was around 8, but quickly grew out of.

She quickly attacked the back of her dress with a pair of scissors. How many spines did she have again? She turned to her mirror in the corner of the room a peaked as best she could and counted. Curious, she brushed her fingers against one of the quill tips and flinched slightly at the sharp sting.

"I shouldn't be surprised..." Maria trailed off as she looked at the blood beading from the cut on her finger. She wiped it away at the bottom of the dress.

And her tail, as short as it may be, was still hard to get used to as well. Now that she thought about it, did she have to cut a hole for her tail?

Or did she even have to wear clothes at all? Shadow never wore clothes.

The image of Shadow gawking at her lack of clothing made her blush from embarrassment. It was definitely better to have clothes.

After hours of toiling over her new dress, she finally managed to make the darned thing properly fit. She ended up sewing the sides in closer and stealing a sash from another one of her previous outfits, but it no longer made her look like a monstrosity. The needle ended up pricking her fingers relentlessly, but she made it. Next time, she definitely will try to drag out the sewing machine, cast-iron or not.

By this time, her stomach growled fiercely. She wasn't sure when she started her little project, but it was clear that she passed lunchtime. Slipping into her new dress, she gave a quick look in the mirror to admire her work, grabbed a small, red fleece blanket from her bed, and made her way to the kitchen.

To keep the blanket from dragging too much on the floor, Maria threw the material over her head and gripped the sides to make a cloak. She always liked this blanket since the color reminded her of Shadow's stripes and eyes. Even when Shadow sneaked into her room at night, he used this blanket to cover up. Maybe because her senses had changed, she thought she could still smell the shampoo that he used...

She clung onto the blanket with a soft smile, trying to fight of the eeriness of being alone. Not one noise had been made since she awoke, and that fact was just as disturbing as the night G.U.N. came. She honestly didn't know what time it really was, but it could have been weeks since that day. She had no idea where her family had gone, or if she would be able to see them. She had never thought of what it was like to be physically alone.

She entered the pass code to the security lock, and the doors slid open to the spacious, industrial kitchen. The smell of stale food wafted through and she cringed. Did the power go out during everyone's disappearance? Maria pulled the doors to the large refrigerator and nearly gagged at the sight. Mold was everywhere! The containers had corroded, and ooze flowed out onto the shelves. She pulled out the vegetable drawers to find shriveled pieces of...were those potatoes or carrots? She pulled out the other drawer, only to find completely molded over cheese and dead bugs. Bile rose from her throat and she slammed the drawers as hard as she could, not even bothering to close the doors. She resisted the urge to gag and ran towards the pantry instead.

It took her a moment to wash the nauseous feeling away, but she finally willed herself to look at the canned food. Thankfully, the cans were much easier to look at. Pictures of fruits and vegetables lined the shelves along with salt, rice, and flour. What caught her eye though was the bright packaging of the cans sitting on the low shelf. Maria picked one up (it was tomato soup) and examined it.

"How clever," She mused at the little ring on top of the lid. She turned the can around and gazed at the chart labeled "nutrition facts", and although she didn't quite understand why the company put it on (what else goes into tomato soup other than tomatoes and water?), it was an interesting read.

She reached for another one of the unusual cans when—

"Who are you?"

A voice asked and she yelped, leaping back from the sudden noise. The can dropped from her hands. Her foot caught the edge of the blanket and she fell to the floor. Her heart was racing! She ripped the blanket away from her body and she gazed up at the source—

—to find a hedgehog standing over her.

Maria's mind began to tick.

"Shadow?" She squeaked, and relief began to flood through her system as she recognized her dear friend. She breathed out a long sigh and stood, rubbing away the tears that formed in her eyes. "Shadow!"

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" His tone caught her off guard, and she looked back at his glare. This time, the unsettling nerve hit her like someone had slapped her across the face. Shadow never, ever spoke to her that way.

"It's me." She smiled despite herself, "Kind of weird, huh? I always wondered what it would be like to be a hedgehog.

He shifted his steel gaze from her form to the blanket.

"You took those from Maria's room." Suddenly her instincts pleaded her to leave, and she knew that this was a side of Shadow she never saw. The side that she only caught glances of in some of the experiments. The dangerous part.

"Shadow-"

Before she knew it, the hedgehog had gripped her arms as he gave her a murderous glare. The force pushed her against the shelves with a bang, and she cried out in pain. Cans rained down from the top shelves and barely missed the pair. She flinched from the noise but dared not look away.

What happened to him?!

"Who are you? Why are you here?" He snarled.

"I live here." She replied hastily. What did she do to make him so upset?!

"That's impossible."

"I know it's hard, but don't you recognize me?"

"No." He replied curtly, his voice growing louder. "Now tell me the truth."

"I _am_ telling the truth! It's me, Maria!"

"You can't be!"

"Why not?!"

"Maria's **dead**!" Shadow bellowed, and she flinched at his voice. "Maria's been dead for fifty years! For the last time, tell me who you are before I annihilate you!"

Shock rippled through her as he let go of one arm and produced a large jewel from his back. What was that...?

"I'm Maria, and I can prove it." Was all that she could reply. "The video camera. In the secret room..."

He placed the jewel between his and her hands and looked at her.

"Show me."

_to be continued..._

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**Trivia!**

Since (as far as I know) Amy is the only female hedgehog in the games, I gave Maria the small back quills that Sonic and Shadow have. You can imagine hers somewhat smaller than theirs, or even not at all if it bothers you!

Nutrition labels weren't mandatory in the US until 1990! It's my understanding that it was only required for food that contained a risky ingredient. Also, these labels weren't as informative as the ones we have today. The more you know, right?

Also, this chapter's title relates, of course, to the blanket Maria wraps herself up in, but also could allude to Shadow being the wolf. He's all nice and safe until you piss him off!

Thanks again for reading!


	3. Chapter 3: The Juniper Tree

**A/N:** Thank you for reviewing, guys! Your support means a lot to me, and feedback is the best support there is. If you have any questions or noticed any mistakes, please feel free to tell me!

I had learned about a recurring grammar error and fixed it in this chapter. I will also fix the other chapters when I have the time. All these years, and I never knew that you shouldn't capitalize the word after a quotation!

There will be another small note in the trivia section at the end of the chapter regarding the rating of this fic.

Please enjoy!

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**The Tales of Our Lives**

_Chapter 3: The Juniper Tree_

They landed back into the secret room with a flash, and Maria unceremoniously dropped to the floor. Her breath quickened as the sudden feeling of tingling evaporated from her body. Numbness took place of her senses instead, and for a few seconds, she couldn't determine anything at all.

How did they get back to the laboratory so quickly?

Shadow took a quick glance around the room and spotted the camera. He pointed to it, and Maria nodded.

And just as she did, he rewound the tape and played it over.

The sound came on, and Maria watched Shadow's expression change from stone to remorse, as if he was on old friend remembering a regretful memory. Her grandfather's voice carried across the room, and she thought the name "Gerald" left Shadow's lips. The clip rolled on, and Shadow's fist curled tightly. Finally, after hearing the static roll, He turned the camera off. He stood, back turned towards her, gazing at the machine that saved her life.

"...there's no one in here." He mumbled.

"I broke out." Maria answered softly. "I didn't think I was that strong, but I did it."

Another pause filled the air as Shadow lifted his head.

"This has to be some kind of sick joke." he spat, and his voiced stabbed through her heart like needles.

"It's not. I would have been dead if it wasn't for Grandpa and that machine." she replied. The resolution in her voice surprised even herself, and Maria found her confidence slowly rising. She was afraid of him right now, but that didn't change the fact that he was still the Shadow she knew.

"You could have come in here and set this all up! We—I would have noticed!"

"Please, Shadow!" she begged. He froze on the spot, as if her words had paralyzed him. "You have to trust me!"

"How...How can I know that you're really her?" His body was shaking, and she resisted the urge to reach out to him. What could she say...?

"Do you remember last April?" she started, vividly picturing the scene. Her eyes glazed over as she recalled that night.

"I asked if I could plant a garden in one of the extra rooms, and grandpa said no. So I stole the schematics for the ARK and a few books to prove to him how well it would affect the colony. " She smiled fondly. "I showed them to you, and you told me to bring them back and apologize. But you know me. Once I put my mind to something, I stick with it until the end."

She chuckled, remembering the squabbles they had over nothing, and then continued.

"Later Grandpa realized they were missing and caught me with them. He grounded me in my room for two weeks, and you weren't allowed to see me until my time was up. But you came anyway around..." She counted her fingers as she went over the days in her head. "...five days later. You spent the night, and we talked about what I would've put in the garden. I wanted snapdragons, forget-me-nots, all sorts of vegetables and plants. But I wanted to plant a tree the most, because they're so tall and beautiful..."

Shadow turned to her.

"It was an almond tree." He interrupted, staring into her eyes. Maria tilted her head, frowning. An almond tree? But…

"No it wasn't. I wanted a juniper tree because I heard they were easier to grow for first timers. You're the one who wanted an almond tree."

For a few moments, the black hedgehog fell silent, fighting with whatever thoughts dominated his head. All she could do was watch. Her mind was blank. If he couldn't believe her from even the most secret of memories, then what?

She clasped her fingers over her heart, wanting to cry. "Shadow, please."

In an instant, Shadow had closed the space between them and wrapped his arms around her body tightly. She felt his frame uncontrollably shaking, as if he were holding back sobs.

"Maria..." he whispered in the most heart-wrenching tone she had ever heard him speak.

She returned the embrace, though somewhat more gentle, and closed her eyes.

"It's okay. I'm here." her tone cracked, trying to keep the tears from falling. She had never seen Shadow so...devastated before.

"All this time you were here. I how could I not…" Shadow pulled away just enough to look at her. She saw the anguish written in his expression and failed to keep back her tears. He reached for the drops with his gloved hands. "How long have you been awake?"

Maria shook her head. "Maybe a day." At that time her stomach growled, once again accusing her of neglect. She smiled apologetically, and Shadow, for the first time since she had seen him, smiled. "Um, I was looking for some food when you found me."

"Come on," Her once again dearest friend tugged gently on her wrist. "Let's find you something to eat."

As they walked through the familiar hallways once again, Shadow's tender grip never left her wrist. Even though it only felt like a short time since she last saw him, he seemed so much more mature. But that didn't quite describe it either. He wasn't as carefree, or as naïve. Something different...

"Are you okay?"

His low voice startled her out of her thoughts, and she quickly nodded her head. She should have been asking him that question.

"I was just thinking. What happened since I've been asleep? It feels like weeks."

He looked away, and for a moment she could only see a mess of red and black spines.

"It's been around 53 years since the ARK was raided. I'm sorry, Maria."

The number didn't quite register with her at first. That's right, he had said something like that before. 53 years...that meant she was around 68. Then that meant Shadow was 65. Grandpa was…

She stopped. "Where's Grandpa?"

He turned around to face her and opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. Nerves crept into her stomach as she watched Shadow struggle to find the words.

"Professor Gerald passed away shortly after the raid..."

"Oh." Was all that she could say. Her eyes turned to the ground, searching for whatever she was feeling at the moment, but her head was just blank. Her grandfather was dead and this was all she could muster? Dying meant that she wasn't going to see him again. Dying meant that he failed to see his research completed, and that he actually managed to outlive _her_. Dying was permanent. She knew all of that, but why wasn't she upset?

"Maria?" She darted her gaze back to Shadow's concerned look.

"I'm fine. Let's keep going." she lied. Of course it wasn't fine, yet she couldn't make herself feel otherwise.

Shadow nodded (though it was obvious he was not convinced) and once again grasped her hand.

They made it back to the kitchen in silence, and Shadow lead her to one of the stools near the island. His hand slowly released hers, and the hedgehog disappeared into the nearby pantry. He returned shortly after with the peculiar can of soup in his hands along with the forgotten blanket. Her curiosity peaked through her gloom as she watched her friend cook. Even though the kitchen was designed for human height, Shadow could easily jump to grab the small pan hanging from the shelves. He climbed on top of another stool in front of the stove and began to work.

She still couldn't get her head around the drastic change: the change of time, of Shadow, especially her. The life that she had before was gone. This was the beginning of a new one.

She continued in her daze until Shadow ladled the soup into two bowls and returned to the island. Maria scooped the liquid into her mouth and cringed at the foreign taste hidden under the tomato flavor. She was hungry though, and since she was never one to let food go to waste, she stuck another portion into her mouth.

"Where did you get this stuff, Shadow?"

He sipped from a spoonful of his own before replying. "Earth. It's a popular brand down there..."

"Earth." Maria repeated. That seemed so unreal to her, even though she did launch Shadow to the planet herself. She was only a baby when Grandpa had brought her here, so the thought of really being on Earth surpassed her imagination.

"...Oh, that's right." Shadow mused as he put the mysterious gem onto the counter for Maria to see. The emerald color bounced reflected against the walls, and she lost her train of thought. What kind of gem is this?

"Let me explain everything since you've been gone..."

Her friend gave a long sigh and began his tale of his adventures on the planet she loved but never got to see. He explained the loss of his memory and the distorted promise they made, the friends and rivals he encountered (though he wouldn't outright admit it, but she could tell by the expressions that he cared more than he let on), and the mysterious Chaos Emeralds. By the time Shadow finished explaining how he could travel through time and space, the remains of their soup became cold and fatigue had begun to creep into Maria's consciousness.

"Let's go back to my room and continue from there." She yawned and grabbed the blanket from the table. She clumsily jumped down from the stool, earning a bemused expression of the hedgehog across from her. Oh, now physical training was definitely in order. Did Grandpa make a hedgehog manual? He should have, because she needed it for sure.

"Let's go." Shadow complied. He gracefully slipped away from the stool and went to her side in an instant. He offered his hand to her, and she took it without a second thought.

"So what made you come back here?" she asked as they started their trek. She couldn't imagine why he would even fathom returning to the ARK, especially since it was abandoned.

"It's a complicated story. For now, I need to make sure that no one else is on the colony." He replied. "Although, coming up here means I have less unexpected visits." His lips formed into a frown and his eyes narrowed, as if the disturbance was right in front of him. She couldn't help but grin.

"Are you thinking about that other hedgehog you were talking about? What's-his-name...Sonic?"

"He's infuriating! Somehow that fake hedgehog knows when it's the most inconvenient time to show up."

"That bad, huh?"

He gave her a grave look, and Maria hid her smile behind her free hand. "You have no idea."

When they reached her room, shadow had taken the blanket and placed it on her bed. She automatically headed to her dresser for some pajamas...

Human pajamas. Well, shoot.

She smacked her hand against her head. Of course, she completely forgot about making a simple pair of pajamas for herself!

"What am I going to do?" She mumbled at the dresser, silently pleading with it to give her the solution. Hadn't it already been a long day? Were pajamas too much to ask?

"What's the problem?"

Maria bit her lip. "Well..." She turned to Shadow and lowered her gaze. "I sort of...have nothing to wear for bed."

"Oh." He folded his arms. The two stood in an awkward pause before he continued. "I can come back tomorrow."

With that, he turned to the door, ready to leave.

"Wait," She grabbed for his arm without even thinking about it, effectively stopping him in his tracks. "I'll think of something. Just stay here for tonight, please?"

Pajamas or not, she didn't want to be left alone here. Shadow's presence was the only thing that made sense to her.

He looked at her quizzically. "What are you going to do?"

Immediately she tore out the bottom drawer in hopes of finding any suitable clothing. She had to have something else in here, anything that wouldn't suffocate her or slip off, anything, anything—

"Ah hah!" She jerked the first suitable article of clothing from the drawer. It was an old t-shirt, riddle with blotches of color from their painting sessions. Quickly she took her newfound pajamas into her private bathroom, and began to strip off the dress...only that it was getting caught on her quills. The more she twisted around, the more it got tangled.

After five minutes of wrestling around with her own clothing, she relented to the horrible, positively embarrassing reality of the situation.

She needed help.

With a heavy sigh, Maria leaned her forehead against the door in defeat.

"Shadow?" She called. Shuffles of footsteps were heard.

"I'm here." Came a muffled voice.

"You have to promise not to make fun of me, okay? I need help."

There was a small pause, and then,

"With _what_?" he asked, sounding perplexed. Maria swallowed her embarrassment and stared at the door.

"I'm stuck in my dress."

"What?"

"I'm stuck in my dress!" She half screamed, unlatched the door, and pulled him in as fast as she could. Quickly she turned away from him in a vain attempt to hide the blush rushing to her cheeks. Her eyes darted over her shoulder to peak at him, hoping that he didn't think of her as too much of an idiot.

"Just help me out, please."

Shadow covered his mouth with his hand, probably in an attempt to hold back his laughter.

"How did you manage this?" The muffled tone of his voice was caught in between wonder and amusement.

"Hey," She retorted, "I'm used to being a lot less spiky!"

Maria felt a light tug on the back of her dress, and the fabric resisted against the pull. Maybe if she moved the front part up as he got the back untangled...

With a solid pull, they somehow won the fight against her clothing.

"Now I know why you never wear clothes!" she exclaimed and dropped the dress to the floor.

And then she realized.

Covering her breasts with her arms, a blush warmed up her entire face as she desperately wished that the t-shirt was in her grasp.

"U-um..."

Without another word, the shirt landed on her head and the click of the door was heard.

After the shorter struggle with her new clothing, Maria gathered her discarded dress and left the bathroom.

God, why couldn't she have just died?

_to be continued..._

* * *

**A/N: **I apologize for my odd sense of humor and if the last part was a little too much. Right now the rating for the fic is set at Teen, but if you feel that I need to go up in the rating scale, please tell me. Ratings were something I was never good at determining.

**Trivia!**

I remember hearing when I was a kid that soup was originally made in tin cans. The metal gave the soup a slight tin taste. When companies switched to aluminum cans, the taste changed and people complained that the soup didn't taste good any more! Supposedly companies inject a small amount of flavoring that act as the tin taste, thus keeping the recipe "the same".

One of my favorite fairy tales, _The Juniper Tree_ is a lesser-known (to my knowledge) Grimm's fairy tale about a man and his beautiful wife who wished for a little boy under a Juniper Tree. They get their wish, but the wife dies giving birth to her son. Soon after the man remarries and has a daughter as well. However, the stepmother is cruel, and bad things happen...though justice is served at the end.

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4: The Duration of Life

**A/N:** I apologize for the long wait. I was caught between getting through a difficult chapter (which I'm still working on) and general life stuff, as well as going back onto Gaia. Dang website...

I know that this is a small chapter for such a long wait, but next chapter we'll be going back to the beginning with Shadow!

Enjoy!

* * *

** The Tales of Our Lives**

_Chapter 4: The Duration of Life_

Ohh, warm. She liked being warm. The covers that grandpa bought for her birthday always did the best job of keeping her nice and toasty. Maria buried her head further into her pillows, sighing at the contentedness of her slumber. Everyone was always too busy to enjoy something like this, scurrying around the lab bright and early. Sleep...

But now she was half awake. Sleep wasn't coming back to her any time soon.

Maria pulled back her hair—ouch ouch ouch!

Jerking up from her bed, she stared at her now-bleeding fingers in half surprise. That's right. Hedgehog quills. All at once the memories of the previous day caught up with her. The last she remembered, Shadow was telling her about how he had lost his memory again.

Speaking of which, where was Shadow?

He wasn't curled up on the bed like he usually was when he spent the night in her room. The silence also gave her the impression that he wasn't anywhere nearby.

After a few minutes of willing herself out of bed, she reluctantly touched her feet to the cold floor and dragged herself to the bathroom. Her best friend better have been getting them some breakfast...

The grogginess hadn't faded completely as she brushed her teeth and looked at herself in the mirror. The Maria staring back at her was another reminder that everything in her life had changed. To think that she was always going to be this way...

Maria pushed the thought away and went into the hallway to find Shadow. He had to be somewhere on this space station, unless he abandoned ship. He wouldn't leave her here...right?

Right?

"Shadow!" She called out, hoping to hear a reply. The echoes of her own voice greeted her in return.

"Where could he have gone?"

Her feet carried her to the kitchen, but the lack of lights and sound convinced her that he was not there. Grandpa's office? The silence coupled with the thick layers of dust said otherwise. What about the observation deck?

Her journey to the spacious room ended in failure. She did, however, find quite a nice view of Earth.

Blue and green and white, just as she remembered it. Unreachable, beautiful, and constantly there. The image of Earth was like a ghost that haunted her every waking day. When Shadow talked about the forests and canyons, she could picture the landscape in her head and imagine the breeze against her skin and the smell of grass. It was heaven for her.

But she couldn't leave here without risking the possibility of infecting others. Grandpa was nowhere near completing a vaccine when he had been interrupted, and it was unlikely that researchers made much progress, even after fifty years.

With no one here, it would mean she would have the whole colony to herself. Ultimately she had to stay here and figure out how to live alone. What was she supposed to do here?

"Maria." Shadow's voice startled her from the reverie, and she looked at her best friend in surprise.

"Oh! There you are!" she replied softly, feeling the warmth of her heart spread. He was still here after all...

But he certainly didn't get those cuts from sleeping in bed! Although he had bags underneath his eyes and disheveled fur, his eyes lit up as if he had never needed the sleep to begin with. A small smile adorned his face as he offered his hand.

"Come with me. I have to show you something."

The moment she grabbed his hand, he pulled her through the maze of the ARK to the central computer that ran the entire system.

The large monitor displayed several charts of DNA sequences and notes about the statistics of the process. Many of the buttons on the console were dimly lit, emitting a pale hue around the area. The catwalk, the colors, nothing had changed since the fifty-three year lapse. Memories sprung back to her of checking up on grandpa, who would perform research here for days at a time.

"Is this..." It definitely was. She could recognize her own genetic code, written in the form of letters and numbers, dots on a graph and so on. And then there was the other sequence. One that has similar patterns, except this sequence was healthy.

"I found a scrap cloth that had a bit of your blood on it." He sheepishly looked away for a moment, frowning. "I was curious about if there were any side-effects to whatever that machine did to you. This is what I found. Look."

He then pulled up a comparison of her blood cells, side by side.

"This is before and after your transformation. According to the analysis, the–"

Maria grabbed his arm without taking her eyes off the results. She mumbled off the numbers in her head over to double check if what she was seeing was true.

"There's no sign of it. It's gone." She turned her gaze to Shadow with wide eyes.

"You're cured." he stated simply.

It took a few seconds for the shock to wear off while they stood in silence. Tears began to form in her eyes as she smiled. The NIDS virus was gone. She was free.

"I'm cured!" Without a moment's notice she tackled Shadow to the ground in a bear hug, laughing.

"M-Maria!?"

She nuzzled her head against Shadow's chest, reeling over the exhilaration of finally never having to worry about dying before she was twenty!

"We did it, Shadow! I'm healthy! I can live!"

A pair of arms wrapped around her and Shadow's muzzle tickled her ear.

"You're alive." He breathed quietly to her, and she could feel the sound reverberate from his chest. Her heartbeat sped up as warmth spread across her cheeks. Thank goodness Shadow couldn't see her face right now!

"We need to celebrate!" She stammered and disentangled herself from the other hedgehog. "Oh my gosh Shadow, I can do anything I want now! I can–"

She paused, still grasping the thought. The warmth in her cheeks had not yet faded as she turned to him with a smile.

"Do you think I can go to Earth?"

Shadow took this opportunity to upright himself and properly look at her.

"Sure. We can leave any time you'd like."

Maria beamed at the confirmation and dashed down the catwalk towards the exit. No more cold and solitary walls! No more exams once a week! She could experience life like she was meant to! _On Earth!_

"Then what are we waiting here for? Let's go!"

_To be continued..._

* * *

**Trivia!**

There's not much to this chapter other than the title. _The Duration of Life_ is another Grimm's Fairy tale about God determining the life span of various animals. While the first three tell God that 30 years is too long to live, the human, of course, begs God to make his life longer. God piles on all the years that was shaved off of the other animals' lives to the human, but the man isn't satisfied. A short, but interesting story. In the fic, you could argue that Maria may have gotten this wish in spades...


	5. Chapter 1 (Shadow): Prince Charming

**A/N:** Another two weeks have gone by, and this time we get to see Shadow's point of view from the beginning! I've done my best to make sure that these next few chapters aren't simple copy and paste, so (hopefully) no worries about feeling bored!

I also apologize for the recent slowness of updates. I've been trying to find a summer job, so much of my time is going to filling out applications. Thanks for your patience!

* * *

**The Tales of Our Lives**

_Chapter 1.5: Prince Charming_

Why, pray-tell, did he decide to agree to working with the very bane of existence?

The question rolled over and over in his mind, and each time he got a different answer. Because they were useful in their own right. Because he signed the contract without remembering who they were in the first place. Because, admittedly, he was broke as all hell and G.U.N. gave him an attractive offer of wages, food and board as long as he worked for them. He had several good reasons to work for G.U.N. regardless of their past relationship.

But at this moment, standing in front of the commander in his second story office, Shadow regretted it more than ever.

"You want me to _what_?"

The commander dropped the heavy folder onto his desk and looked at him in annoyance. Shadow could smell the musk of the aged papers even from where he stood.

"You heard what I said. This mission is imperative, and I expect you to act accordingly. No one else knows the layout of ARK better than you do—"

"What do you expect to be alive up there?" Shadow snarled. "Didn't you take care of that 50 years ago?"

The commander bristled at his outburst and glared.

"I understand your reluctance about the situation, but it must be done. You _will _do the mission."

Shadow crossed his arms and bit his tongue. The commander was right. He had no choice if he wanted to end his contract peacefully.

"Use the chaos emerald we supplied you for transportation and survival purposes. You are dismissed."

And like that, Shadow turned heel and left the commander's office.

He kept his head empty, fighting the bitterness and anger until he was clear out of the building and into the nearby parking lot. The afternoon sky barely held any clouds, and the light spring breeze brushed against his fur. Days like this reminded him of Maria and what she missed out on.

Only typically his days didn't include raiding the place where they had lived and where she had died.

His memories of his past came to him bit by bit during the past year. G.U.N. found him shortly after the crisis with Metal Sonic while attempting to contact Rouge on another independent mission.

_"You should take them up on the offer," The bat said with a grin. "Any missions they dig up wouldn't be too hard for you."_

Of course, she got him into trouble like always. Why did he even think about listening to her? She found more chaos than she did treasure!

Shadow growled in frustration and hopped onto his motorcycle. Whatever. The faster he could get this mission done, the faster he could forget about it.

The rumble of the motor temporarily drowned out his thoughts as he rode down the highway and to the military barracks. He only needed to drop off the bike and be on his way. Later he could take a run to clear his mind, maybe go to the forest where no one could disturb him. Anywhere where he didn't have to deal with people.

As he reached the faded parking lot in front of his barracks, he recognized the figure leaving the entrance. White boots with a pink chest plate and black suit. Rouge. She caught sight of him and sauntered over to his parking spot.

"There you are." The white bat exclaimed. "Were you moping around again or were you at the base?"

He didn't "mope" as she claimed he did. He just considered whether the human race was worth the effort, or if escaping to a private island equated to giving mankind peace. Rouge or anyone else never caught onto the thoughts is all.

"What are you here for?"

"Do I need to have a reason? I just came to wish you luck on your solo mission. Heard about it earlier from the boss."

It was rare of her to meet him outside of missions, but not unusual. What was usual were the uncanny misadventures they would end up together on. The last time he had run into her in the middle of station square while going grocery shopping, and she had accidentally slipped 14-karat diamond earrings into his egg carton. The police soon followed after, and once he returned to his room and the damage was done, she had come back to claim her prize.

Shadow found it amusing, if not a bit unorthodox.

"I'm leaving now." He replied. "So unless there's something specific you need, Rouge, then I'll be going."

He reached for the chaos emerald and was about to use chaos control when Rouge interrupted.

"Wait. Here, take this. It was an extra I had just in case." She handed him a treasure scope, and Shadow looked at her quizzically.

"Just be careful. I know that we destroyed a lot of the chaos experiments when we restarted the ARK, but that was three years ago. There's no telling what might be up there now." She put a hand on her hip and smirked. "Call it women's intuition. Oh, and if you find anything valuable up there, you know where to find me."

Shadow nodded out of acknowledgement. He knew there was always a catch.

Rouge winked at him. "I'll see you later." And with that, she left.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on images of metal and glass, darkness, and Earth. The chaos energy warmed his hand and traveled through his body in streams of heat.

"Chaos Control!"

Light surrounded him as his body became weightless.

And when he opened his eyes, he was back on the space colony ARK.

The research lab's observation deck was the first place he thought of. He would spend so much time here with Maria, just watching the clouds on Earth and talking about, just once, seeing the sky from the other side. He would tell her his fears, and she would tell him that he didn't need to be afraid of anything as long as he was alive. She'd stand right over there and _laugh_—

The mission. He was here for the mission.

Shadow took a deep breath, expelling the old memories away, and listened to the humming of the colony. The research lab was empty. It was time to move on.

He activated the door and walked into the hallway near the professor's quarters, continuing to hear his own footsteps echo as proof of his existence. What a stupid mission! Even though him and Dr. Eggman reactivated the colony three years ago, there was nothing to suggest that anything alive was up here. Sure, maybe a few chaos experiments, but they weren't that tough to beat. Annoying, yes. Annoying enough to push for the Ultimate Life Form (with shaky ties and bad flashbacks at that) to go and take care of them? No. Maybe this was a test of character or loyalty or something.

He passed by Maria's room and was about to peek inside, but he thought better of it. It was better to leave it alone. He paid his respects three years ago…

A small clang echoed further up the hallway, and his ears swiveled to the sound. What was that?

Shadow crouched and took a few cautious steps towards the noise. Chaos experiments never wandered so far in here. The security on the doors was tighter around the living quarters, and no one had ever caught sight of an experiment other than himself roaming these halls.

No other noises came in the minute after. He resumed his normal pace and continued down the hall. Another noise passed through, this time the sound was louder. Where exactly was it coming from?

Maybe Rouge's scope could find something.

He placed the device over his eye and pushed the button on. The lens activated as the electricity hummed by his ear.

What the…?

Trails of footprints were everywhere, and they weren't human or chaos footprints either. Hedgehog footprints.

He growled as he took the treasure scope off and followed the pathway he had seen. Quietly, he snuck to the nearest doors, opened them, and looked inside.

It was the kitchen. The pots and pans hanging from the cupboards remained perfectly still. The counters were still dusty. The refrigerator though, that was a different story.

The rancid smell of rotten food hit his nostrils. Something or someone left the refrigerator doors open.

He'd have to leave it for now. He crept around, keeping a lookout for any suspicious movements from behind the counters. He was almost to the other side of the room when he heard something from the pantry. With his back leaned against the wall, Shadow peaked into the room and saw a cloaked figure holding a soup can in its hand.

"How clever." A high voice came from the stranger. He stepped through the doorway, seemingly unnoticed by the intruder and studied the figure for few seconds. His height, pale fur, small frame. Most likely a female.

She reached for something on the shelf when he interrupted her.

"Who are you?" He asked. It already wasn't a good day, and this stranger wanted to push her luck. He was ready for a fight.

The stranger jumped and stumbled over. The cloak tangled her limbs and covered her face, but she quickly pulled them away. Blue eyes peered up at him, terrified. And then—

"Shadow?" She asked, and stood. Her tone changed as she smiled at him. "Shadow!"

How the hell did she know who he was? Irritation combined with suspicion caused his fur to stand up on end as he took another step into the room. He glared at the hedgehog girl.

"Who are you," he repeated in a low tone, "And what are you doing here?"

The smile wiped right off her face as she took a step backwards.

"It's me. Kind of weird, huh?" She gave another smile, though nervous. He still had no idea who she was, even though she obviously thought otherwise. "I always wondered what it would be like to be a hedgehog."

He didn't understand what she meant by the statement, but peered at her form, trying to grasp where and when he could have met a blond quilled, blue-eyed hedgehog. Didn't he see that dress before? And the cloak…that was really a blanket. It was his old one, from Maria's—

"You took those from Maria's room." He gritted, glaring at her. He couldn't forgive her for such a crime. Now there was nothing stopping him from killing her.

"Shadow—"

The sound of his name coming from _her _pissed him off! She wasn't going to run away from him, and he slammed her against the shelf to make sure of it. No one had the right to trespass into Maria's room!

"Who are you? Why are you here?" He growled, baring his teeth at her.

"I live here." she replied. He almost spat at the idea.

"That's impossible."

"I know it's hard," she said, almost crying, " but don't you recognize me?"

"No." His patience was wearing thin. "Now tell me the truth."

The hedgehog struggled against his grip. " I _am_ telling the truth! It's me, Maria!"

"You can't be!" To think this girl would stoop so low!

"Why not?!"

"Maria's **dead!**" His voice carried through the kitchen as the girl flinched. "Maria's been dead for fifty years! Now, for the last time, tell me who you are before I annihilate you!"

Before she could even reply, he took the chaos emerald out and channeled its energy. He didn't even care anymore. Whatever secrets she carried could die with her.

"I am Maria and I can prove it." she said. "The video camera, in the secret room…"

Secret room? Fine. He'd take the bait. There was no way she could escape from him anyway.

"Show me."

_To be continued..._

* * *

**Trivia!**

None this time!


	6. Chapter 2 (Shadow): The Almond Tree

**A/N:** I sincerely apologize for the late update! RL troubles has been keeping me on my toes for the past couple weeks, so I've been finding myself unable to concentrate on writing like I wanted (which is still no excuse. This chapter was done weeks before now. I'm sorry!).

I want to take this time to thank you guys for reading, fav'ing, and following this story, and hope you've enjoyed it so far!

* * *

**The Tales of Our Lives**

_Chapter 2.5: The Almond Tree  
_

He concentrated the emerald's power through the fake Maria, and the familiar sense of weightlessness returned. This time, the warp had sent them to a different room in the ARK.

Shadow looked at the unfamiliar layout, trying to judge where they were. Certainly this was one of the rooms the professor had kept locked up. He looked back towards the entrance and noted that the doors remained open. Someone either busted in...or out.

The biggest attraction was the machine in the middle of the floor. It was similar to the experimental stasis pods with the exception that the pod was horizontal. Broken glass and small pools of fluid were everywhere.

Next to it was an operation tray with a video camera. That must have been what she was talking about. He pointed to the object, and she nodded.

He clicked the rewind button. Whatever is on this camera could tell if there were any other surprises waiting for him.

With a click, the video played and Professor Gerald appeared. The capsule behind him was occupied...

with a dying Maria inside.

Shadow grimaced, barely recognizing what Gerald was saying. God, Maria didn't deserve this. Her eyes were closed in the picture, and her blood was mixing in with the clear liquid of the capsule. Flashes of memories of that night fought to rise up, and he distracted himself with his creator's voice instead.

_"I'm so sorry about everything!"_ the old man sobbed.

"Gerald." he muttered under his breath. "Sorry" didn't even touch what Shadow was feeling. More like utter and complete regret. Despair. No one should ever have to see their loved ones die.

The flat sound buzzed in his ears as he watched the flurry of doctors surround the capsule, and he curled his fists in tighter to bear it. What a horrible noise! Why weren't they stopping it?! Why was he watching her die all over again?!

They cut off the noise, and he watched as the scientist left in defeat. His rage subsided and was left with numbness as Gerald left. Everything was over.

He didn't pay much attention to the soldier, and the minute following after was just white noise. He turned the camera off. Another glance at the broken capsule reaffirmed that Maria's remains were gone.

"...there's no one in here." he mumbled to himself. All of the glass shards were on the floor, on the outside...

"I broke out. I didn't think I was that strong, but I did it." the hedgehog girl answered. He refused to look at her.

What she was suggesting was just too farfetched. Maria was human, and a deceased one at that.

But Gerald didn't know the effects...

"This has to be some kind of sick joke." Right? G.U.N. was fucking with his head. Or Eggman, he could have made some ploy–

"It's not." she argued. "I would have been dead if it wasn't for Grandpa and that machine." Her voice sounded like Maria's the more he heard it. And her eyes were the same, beautiful color as he remembered.

No. He had to get a hold on himself.

"You could have come in here and set this all up!" Shadow tried to rationalize, grasping for anything to make sense. "We –I would have noticed!"

"Please, Shadow!"

_"Please, Shadow!"_ the memory repeated, and he froze. It was way too similar. She was way too similar to be simply acting as Maria.

"You have to trust me!"

Shadow felt his resolve slipping away. "How...How can I know that you're really her?"

Silence fell over the room for a few seconds. And then she spoke.

"Do you remember last April?"

He didn't understand the question and looked quizzically at her, but she began to tell a familiar story...

"I asked if I could plant a garden in one of the extra rooms, and grandpa said no..."

_"I'm bored at just looking at pictures. Let's plant a real garden!" Maria complained as she laid on the large botanical encyclopedia in exasperation. Her golden hair splayed onto the pages, making studying impossible for biology. She peeked at him with her blue eyes._

_Shadow smiled in amusement._

_"We can't exactly plant seeds in three inches of reinforced titanium."_

_That earned him a playful smack in the arm and a groan from his companion. She sat up and crossed her arms._

_"Well, why can't we have a garden? I bet they never even thought about it."_

_"Who would take care of it, for one, and what about bringing up supplies? I doubt they want to waste the money on a pile of dirt."_

_Maria pouted at him, clearly dissatisfied with his answer. She knew just as he did the expenses of shipping to the ARK were not cheap, and her allowance wouldn't even cover loading costs._

_But did that ever stop Maria from trying? No. He knew that it never did._

_"I'm going to ask Grandpa about it. Want to come along?"_

_"Of course."_

_So they left Maria's room, temporarily abandoning her studies in favor of going to the Professor's office._

_Once there, Dr. Gerald Robotnik was hunched over his desk in concentration. Shadow could always tell when the doctor was working by the mumbles of formulas and the smell of strong coffee floating in the room._

_"Grandpa." Maria softly called out to him._

_"The derivative of…yes…" The elderly man scratched his head and continued writing as if she had never said anything._

_She rapped on his desk lightly and the sound caught his attention, jerking straight up in his chair like a soldier being awoken from guard duty. He cleared his voice and shifted his glasses upwards._

_"Oh! Hello there Maria." The professor gave him a nod. "Shadow."_

_"Good afternoon, sir." he greeted._

_Maria gently prodded his arm. "Grandpa, you haven't been here all night again, have you?"_

_"No, my dear. I've only been here since seven this morning." The man chuckled as he mussed his granddaughter's hair despite her complaints._

_"You've eaten lunch, right?" she rebutted, smoothing down her tussled hair. Shadow held back a grin at the static making her locks stand on end._

_"Yes. What's this all about?"_

_And then Shadow watched as Maria did what she was best at. She tilted her head the slightest angle and clasped her hands together. Her eyes, wide, looked at her grandfather in earnest. What Maria called "the puppy dog eyes"._

_Both Shadow and Gerald were victims of this ploy, and they, for the most part, had little defense against it. She could have asked people to kill for her, and they'd be half obliged to do so._

_"I've been reading my biology books," Oh, so the scientific approach. She's serious. "and I thought that I could learn better if we were to plant a few of the common foliage here on the colony."_

_Her grandfather looked at her and sighed heavily._

_"So you want a garden?"_

_"Yes."_

_"I'm afraid not," he said. Maria held her ground, though the immediate disapproval made her frown._

_"Why?" she asked as a tinge of anger slipped into her tone._

_"Because we simply do not have the proper resources to keep a garden. It would require much more than just dirt and water. We'd have to build a whole system for it, find labor for the setup, and even then, we would have to find plants suitable for quarantine conditions. There's too much hassle to produce too little results."_

_Maria bit her lip and stayed quiet._

_"I'm sorry, Maria, but you can't have a garden."_

_"Don't you suppose that the colony could cut back on shipping costs and conserve resources if we could produce our own food? Plus, we could use them for experiments here and find other potential cures on a lot of diseases!"_

_"I said no, young lady." His stern voice cut Maria off. Her last statement had been a low blow, and Shadow knew it._

_Maria scowled at the old man for a few seconds._

_"Fine."_

_She turned heel and went straight out of the office._

_Dr. Robotnik sighed again, rubbing his temples. He looked at Shadow helplessly._

_"I apologize for the intrusion." Shadow said as he lowered his head._

_"She's angry. Make sure she stays out of trouble."_

_"Yes sir."_

_As he left the room, he caught up to his only friend who was further down the hallway. Her usual smile was turned into a tight frown and her eyes sparked with frustration._

_"This isn't over," she muttered quietly. And they spoke nothing of it for the rest of the day._

_In fact, Shadow had thought that she had forgotten about it until a week later, when he stopped by her room after his performance tests. Maria typically would have met him on the observation deck, but today she was nowhere to be found._

_He pushed open the door and called for her. "Maria?"_

_Her response was a startled "Eep!" as she slammed her knees against the bottom of her desk in surprise, followed by an "ow" afterwards._

_"Shadow!" she exclaimed wildly as she put a hand over her heart. "What are you doing here?"_

_He folded his arms and smirked at her. "I think the better question is what are you hiding?"_

_The guilty look he received confirmed his suspicions as she beckoned him over._

_"Please keep it a secret!"_

_Lo and behold, the schematics of the ARK were sprawled out on Maria's desk, partially covered by a notebook and a text about agriculture and irrigation. At her feet was the botanical encyclopedia, two books on architecture and design, and next to that were a few pages of scribbled formulas and diagrams._

_It was no wonder that she was tired lately. And here he was starting to get worried._

_Shadow frowned at her._

_"Still thinking about that garden?"_

_"Look," Maria said, pulling the schematics—and the books on top of it—towards him. "If we use this room right here, then we could tap into the water pipe used for the showers and use it for a sprinkler system."_

_ She pointed to the line that represented the pipe and followed it. _

_"And we wouldn't need to do too much remodeling. The room is 12' by 15' by 20', so it would be fine for a couple of bushes, and we'd build essentially a large sandbox that's at least three foot deep…" She scrunched up her nose. "No, maybe a bit deeper. Some species of plants grow deeper than that…"_

_Tousling her already messed up hair with her hand, she leaned down for her botanical dictionary when the chair tipped over. Shadow quickly grabbed her arms and caught her before she reached the ground._

_"You should go to bed," he said as Maria righted herself. She bit her lip._

_"I just have to figure out the costs of materials and what plants we need to bring up here. I'll be fine."_

_"You shouldn't even have these. If the professor finds out, he'd punish you for sure." And then he'd have to find some other way to spend his time, and possibly with people he didn't like._

_"Which is why he'll know when I'm finished with them."_

_"It'd be better to bring them back now and apologize for stealing his stuff," he chastised, eying her with worry. Obsession must be in the family genes._

_Maria flopped back on to the chair and groaned._

_"Okay. Here's the deal. I'll give myself two days to finish up, and then I'll give everything back to grandpa. Finished or not. Sound good?"_

_"Just don't kill yourself in that time."_

_"Yes sir."_

_"Good." Shadow stated. "Now go to sleep."_

_And the next day after, Shadow was called into 's office._

_"Shadow, Maria is grounded for the next two weeks. Steer clear of her room until her punishment is up." Gerald announced. Shadow flattened his ears._

_"Understood." So she got caught after all._

_"That girl will be the death of me," the man groaned. "She put up a good fight too. Gave me a five-minute lecture of what she learned and a rough design of how to utilize the storage room."_

_Day one and two came and went without any noticeable events. He had to switch his usual routine around from when he would meet Maria on the deck to doing chore work. Unfortunately it meant doing more tests than he would have liked; especially endurance tests were the worst when he did two in a row. At least the scientists found some enjoyment out of it._

_Day three rolled around and he was beginning to think that a two-week grounding was a little harsh for the both of them. He missed laughing about trivial conversations and hearing the sound of her voice._

_Day four was a particularly sour day. A new intern accidentally brushed the wrong way against his quills and then blamed him for it. Shadow spent an hour explaining about what happened to three different people, including Gerald himself. And then he had to take a psych test for good measure. If he had Maria by his side, then at least his mood wouldn't have been half as bad._

_Day five came and he decided that any longer would be cruelty. One little visit wouldn't hurt._

_So, when night fell he had made his rounds to ensure that no one would catch him. Gerald was cooped up in his office. The security guards were switching shifts. Right now was the opportune time. _

_The light in the room was still on, which meant that she was awake. He slipped to the edge of the door, listening for anyone else in the area. Hearing nothing unusual, he cracked open the door just enough to get Maria's attention._

_"Pssstt."_

_The moment she heard him, she leapt off of her bed and pulled him inside in one fluid motion. She pushed the door closed and pinned him into a hug._

_"Two weeks of solitary confinement is the worst." Maria complained in a hushed voice._

_He returned the gesture and laughed softly at her statement._

_"How have you been spending your time?" He pulled away from the embrace to properly look at her. _

_"School, studying, tests. The tutors gave me an IQ test today. They think I might have Grandpa's 'genes for brilliance'."_

_"Is that so?" Shadow smirked playfully. "Does this mean you're going to go bald and grow a mustache twice the size of your face?"_

_Maria blushed and pushed him back in mock indignation._

_"I'll have you know that those traits only happen on the male side of the family."_

_Her stern face cracked, and she giggled for a few seconds before switching the subject. "Still, all of this happened because I wanted a garden. You know, I figured out what kind of plants I wanted before Grandpa caught me."_

_Maria tugged at her pajama sleeves before grabbing the botanical encyclopedia. She plopped back onto her bed and patted beside her. "Do you want to see?"_

_"Sure." Shadow replied, content enough to be near her. He climbed onto the bed and sat where she had patted. Her arm brushed up against his as she opened the book._

_"First, I thought about getting snapdragons…"_

"…Forget-me-nots, all sorts of fruits and vegetables." the hedgehog girl continued. "But I wanted to plant a tree the most, because they're so tall and beautiful..."

He had to admit, she had described everything well. Neither of them ever talked about the garden to anyone else, and the memory wouldn't have been recorded in any sort of way.

But Shadow still had to try.

"It was an almond tree."

His lie was a last attempt at proving that she was an imposter meant to deceive him. Losing Maria once was enough. Losing Maria again, well, it would be insanity.

She looked at him curiously, frowning.

"No it wasn't. I wanted a Juniper tree because they're easy to grow for first timers. You're the one who wanted an almond tree."

She was right. Only Maria would have known that he would have picked an almond tree. Her voice, her actions, and her memories were all Maria's.

"Shadow, please."

He was tired of fighting. He just wanted Maria back.

The doubt was gone, and Shadow crossed the distance between them in no time. His arms pulled Maria's body close to him in a tight embrace. The smell of her shampoo invaded his senses and he shut his eyes closely. He was shaking.

"Maria…" he whispered, losing the ability to think. She came back to him, not as a ghost haunting his past, but as a living being. He was able to touch her skin, hear her voice, and see her smile. It was nothing short of a miracle.

Shadow felt two arms snake around him.

"It's okay. I'm here." her voice squeaked. A few moments passed as he regained his composure enough to properly think.

"All this time you were here. I how could I not…" Shadow started, but quickly realized that she wouldn't have known either. How he, Eggman, or Rouge missed her while starting the Eclipse cannon was a mystery.

He wiped away the few tears in her eyes and opted for the easier question instead.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Maybe a day." she responded, shaking her head.

Then a gurgling noise interrupted their conversation, and Maria smiled in embarrassment.

Shadow felt himself smile back, the first genuine one in a long time.

"Um, I was looking for some food when you found me." she explained.

Shadow gently grasped her wrist. His chest grew warm as he looked at her soft expression.

"Come on. Let's find you something to eat."

_To be continued..._

* * *

**Trivia!**

The title _The Almond Tree_ is the alternate name for the _Juniper Tree_ fairy tale, come about by the uncertainty of translating a particular word from the German title.

_"'...we could tap into the water pipe...'"_ Although not particularly significant to the story, if they had succeeded, I would have made the whole colony fought for shower times based on the water usage of their irrigation for the garden. You know, because of limited resources. And because I'm evil like that.

So why **wouldn't** have Eggman, Rouge, or Shadow notice a jacked up console with a jammed door, hiding a self-powered capsule in it? I blame it on the linearity of the objectives that each character has. When you play as Eggman, the only thing you're really interested in is to get to the console in the first ARK level, and then to get rid of Sonic and his pals in the second level. Shadow? He's dealing with amnesia coupled with a distorted memory of his best friend dying, AND his need to take vengeance out on humanity kinda trumps exploration of an already-known colony. Out of all of them, Rouge would have had the best chance to find her. However, since Rouge was given an important task by GUN with all of her high-stakes rewards laid out in the open, she most likely wouldn't have bothered with any "chump change" on ARK. Still a little farfetched? Well...fanfic universe...?


End file.
